Method and system for incentivizing savings

ABSTRACT

A method and system for incentivizing savings is provided by awarding a bonus upon receiving a number of recurring transfers during a period of time.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No.61/088,662 filed Aug. 13, 2008, which is incorporated by reference inits entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention relates to a method for incentivizing savings.

BACKGROUND

Many financial institutions, including banks and savings & loans, offersavings accounts where customers accrue a positive balance throughdeposits. Interest is payed on the positive balance. Typically,withdrawals are allowed from a savings account, but withdrawals inexcess of the balance are not allowed. A consumer can save funds in asavings account by making deposits into the account or by transferringfunds from another account.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A method for incentivizing savings can include receiving a recurringtransfer from a first account to a second account, determining a numberof recurring transfers received, and adding a bonus to the secondaccount calculated from an average balance of the second account, thebonus being added when the number of recurring transfers received isabove a threshold during a period of time, thereby rewarding loyalty.The received recurring transfer can be pre-planned or programmed.

In one aspect, a system for incentivizing savings can include firstaccount; a second account, receiving a recurring transfer from the firstaccount; and a calculation module configured to determine a number ofrecurring transfers received, and add a bonus to the second accountcalculated from a balance of the second account when the number ofrecurring transfers received is above a threshold during a period oftime, thereby rewarding loyalty.

The details of one or more embodiments are set forth in the accompanyingdrawings and the description below. Other features, objects, andadvantages will be apparent from the description and drawings, and fromthe claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a system for incentivizingsavings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Although the following detailed description contains many specificdetails for the purposes of illustration, anyone of ordinary skill inthe art will appreciate that many variations and alterations to thefollowing details can be incorporated in the system and methodsdescribed herein. Accordingly, the exemplary embodiments described beloware set forth without any loss of generality to, and without imposinglimitations upon, any claimed invention.

A typical bank customer may make an initial deposit into an account andthen ignore or forget the account. Banks seek ways to encourageaccount-holders to use their accounts and deposit funds. Recurringtransfers can be set up from another account. A system and method forincentivizing savings can reward use of the account and loyalty to theaccount holder.

A detailed explanation of the method and process according to preferredembodiments of the present invention are described below.

Recent surveys point to consumer concerns about the economy and theadequacy of their savings, all against the backdrop of their increasinginterest in products that are affordable and environmentally friendly(Pew Research Center and Conference Board). Products that address theseissues can be found at a bank.

The benefits of the new bonus-oriented checking and savings accounts gobeyond simply providing basic banking services and financial planning.The new product set encourages—and rewards—vital savings life skills.And the new bonus products provide more—some peace of mind knowing thatthe account helps consumers save money while also doing something goodfor the environment.

Savings accounts have been around for years but the recent economicslowdown has reiterated the need for more creative and convenientsavings options. A bonus checking account includes the option to open anew bonus savings account. Available with bonus checking, the bonussavings account provides a per year savings bonus, based on theaccount's average monthly balance and the establishment of a monthlyautomatic transfer from a bonus checking account.

A difficult economy is a reminder of why saving is so important—toprepare for rainy days. Personal savings are at all-time lows. This isan opportunity that banks and consumers can address together. The bonussavings account is designed to make saving incredibly simple byautomating the process.

While the added saving represents a small step toward a greenerfinancial outlook, bonus accounts also provide consumers the opportunityto make the world a bit greener.

Bonus checking is more than just a way of making banking simple andconvenient for customers. It also includes—at no cost to consumers—thebank's most requested and most environmentally friendly products ande-services including one or more of recycled checks, direct deposit,check cards, online banking, online bill payment, and online statements,each of which independently can be free to the customer.

Bonus checking can come in three versions - standard, senior andstudent. Additional free and discounted services can be available forthe later two groups. In addition, with approved credit, bonus accountholders qualify for financing discounts on energy efficient homeimprovements and alternative fuel vehicles.

As an example, here is a quick breakdown of some of the green paybacksof bonus checking:

-   -   Online Bill Payment services save families, on average, $60 per        year in postage.    -   Online Statements, delivered securely via email, saved more than        2,000 trees in the last year. For each customer who uses Online        Statements, the paper savings alone is approximately 100 pages        per year.    -   CheckCards often eliminate the need for paper checks. Switching        to electronic transactions not only saves the typical family at        least $40-$50 annually, but it also reduces overall paper        consumption by 70 pages of paper per year

According to a recent study, if one household in five made a switch tomaking electronic billing, statements and payments, the savings per yearwould be in excess of 150 million pounds of paper, and preserve morethan 12,000 acres of land from deforestation.

The opening of an account can be further incentivized with a gift, forexample, a reusable grocery tote.

Everyone can all take simple, meaningful actions to make life better.The bonus accounts represent a step that to help people conserve boththeir money and natural resources.

In an embodiment, an automatic monthly transfer of $10 from a bonuschecking to bonus savings for 12 consecutive months is required to earna 1% savings rate bonus. The bonus is paid on the average monthlybalance for the year and paid on the anniversary of account opening.While $10 has been used as an example, the automatic transfer can bemore or less than that amount, and can vary. Additionally, the transfercan be manually requested rather than automatic.

The automatic transfer may be another time than monthly, such as weekly,bi-weekly, quarterly, etc. For a monthly transfer, during a one yearperiod, twelve transfers will incur a bonus. However, a grace of one,two, or more missed transfers will allow a bonus even if less thantwelve transfers are made. During a shorter or longer period, such as 6months, 10 months, 14 months, etc., an optional grace of one, two, ormore missed transfers may be implemented to allow a bonus even if lessthan the total number of transfers are made.

As described above, the bonus is a 1% bonus calculated from an averagemonthly balance during the time period. However, the bonus can be adifferent percentage, such as 0.5%, 2%, 3% or more, or can be a fixed orvariable dollar amount related to or independent of the average monthlybalance. Additionally, the bonus can be calculated using a minimum ormaximum balance during the time period, or by using a different method.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is illustrated a block diagram of a system ofincentivizing savings. In FIG. 1, a first account 101 is linked to asecond account 103, which may be located at the same bank or financialinstitution, or at a different bank or financial institution. Acalculation module 105 is in communication with both the first account101 and the second account 103. The calculation module 105 monitors thetransfers from the first account 101 to the second account 103. Thecalculation module 105 may initiate or control the transfers, or mayonly record the transfers that are initiated and controlled by anotherprocess.

The calculation module 105 records the number of transfers during aperiod of time, as described above. For example, during a twelve monthperiod with recurring monthly transfers, the calculation module 105 mayrecord a number of transfers. For a grace of two transfers, thecalculation module 105 will calculate a bonus for the number oftransfers above the threshold of ten transfers. The calculation module105 may calculate the bonus based upon an average of the second account103, or based upon a minimum or maximum balance of the second account103, or may calculate the bonus independent of the value of the secondaccount 103. As described above, the bonus may be a percent or a dollaramount, related to or independent of the balance of the second account105.

The various techniques, methods, and systems described above can beimplemented in part or in whole using computer-based systems andmethods. Additionally, computer-based systems and methods can be used toaugment or enhance the functionality described above, increase the speedat which the functions can be performed, and provide additional featuresand aspects as a part of or in addition to those described elsewhere inthis document. Various computer-based systems, methods andimplementations in accordance with the above-described technology arepresented below.

In one implementation, a general-purpose computer can have an internalor external memory for storing data and programs such as an operatingsystem (e.g., DOS, Windows 2000™, Windows XP™, Windows NT™, OS/2, UNIXor Linux) and one or more application programs. Examples of applicationprograms include computer programs implementing the techniques describedherein, authoring applications (e.g., word processing programs, databaseprograms, spreadsheet programs, or graphics programs) capable ofgenerating documents or other electronic content; client applications(e.g., an Internet Service Provider (ISP) client, an e-mail client, oran instant messaging (IM) client) capable of communicating with othercomputer users, accessing various computer resources, and viewing,creating, or otherwise manipulating electronic content; and browserapplications (e.g., Microsoft's Internet Explorer) capable of renderingstandard Internet content and other content formatted according tostandard protocols such as the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP).

One or more of the application programs can be installed on the internalor external storage of the general-purpose computer. Alternatively, inanother implementation, application programs can be externally stored inand/or performed by one or more device(s) external to thegeneral-purpose computer.

The general-purpose computer includes a central processing unit (CPU)for executing instructions in response to commands, and a communicationdevice for sending and receiving data. One example of the communicationdevice is a modem. Other examples include a transceiver, a communicationcard, a satellite dish, an antenna, a network adapter, or some othermechanism capable of transmitting and receiving data over acommunications link through a wired or wireless data pathway.

The general-purpose computer can include an input/output interface thatenables wired or wireless connection to various peripheral devices.Examples of peripheral devices include, but are not limited to, a mouse,a mobile phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a keyboard, adisplay monitor with or without a touch screen input, and an audiovisualinput device. In another implementation, the peripheral devices canthemselves include the functionality of the general-purpose computer.For example, the mobile phone or the PDA can include computing andnetworking capabilities and function as a general purpose computer byaccessing the delivery network and communicating with other computersystems. Examples of a delivery network include the Internet, the WorldWide Web, WANs, LANs, analog or digital wired and wireless telephonenetworks (e.g., Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), IntegratedServices Digital Network (ISDN), and Digital Subscriber Line (xDSL)),radio, television, cable, or satellite systems, and other deliverymechanisms for carrying data. A communications link can includecommunication pathways that enable communications through one or moredelivery networks.

In one implementation, a processor-based system (e.g., a general-purposecomputer) can include a main memory, preferably random access memory(RAM), and can also include a secondary memory. The secondary memory caninclude, for example, a hard disk drive and/or a removable storagedrive, representing a floppy disk drive, a magnetic tape drive, anoptical disk drive, etc. The removable storage drive reads from and/orwrites to a removable storage medium. A removable storage medium caninclude a floppy disk, magnetic tape, optical disk, etc., which can beremoved from the storage drive used to perform read and writeoperations. As will be appreciated, the removable storage medium caninclude computer software and/or data.

In alternative embodiments, the secondary memory can include othersimilar means for allowing computer programs or other instructions to beloaded into a computer system. Such means can include, for example, aremovable storage unit and an interface. Examples of such can include aprogram cartridge and cartridge interface (such as the found in videogame devices), a removable memory chip (such as an EPROM or PROM) andassociated socket, and other removable storage units and interfaces,which allow software and data to be transferred from the removablestorage unit to the computer system.

In one embodiment, the computer system can also include a communicationsinterface that allows software and data to be transferred betweencomputer system and external devices. Examples of communicationsinterfaces can include a modem, a network interface (such as, forexample, an Ethernet card), a communications port, and a PCMCIA slot andcard. Software and data transferred via a communications interface arein the form of signals, which can be electronic, electromagnetic,optical or other signals capable of being received by a communicationsinterface. These signals are provided to communications interface via achannel capable of carrying signals and can be implemented using awireless medium, wire or cable, fiber optics or other communicationsmedium. Some examples of a channel can include a phone line, a cellularphone link, an RF link, a network interface, and other suitablecommunications channels.

In this document, the terms “computer program medium” and “computerusable medium” are generally used to refer to media such as a removablestorage device, a disk capable of installation in a disk drive, andsignals on a channel. These computer program products provide softwareor program instructions to a computer system.

Computer programs (also called computer control logic) are stored in themain memory and/or secondary memory. Computer programs can also bereceived via a communications interface. Such computer programs, whenexecuted, enable the computer system to perform the features asdiscussed herein. In particular, the computer programs, when executed,enable the processor to perform the described techniques. Accordingly,such computer programs represent controllers of the computer system.

In an embodiment where the elements are implemented using software, thesoftware can be stored in, or transmitted via, a computer programproduct and loaded into a computer system using, for example, aremovable storage drive, hard drive or communications interface. Thecontrol logic (software), when executed by the processor, causes theprocessor to perform the functions of the techniques described herein.

In another embodiment, the elements are implemented primarily inhardware using, for example, hardware components such as PAL(Programmable Array Logic) devices, application specific integratedcircuits (ASICs), or other suitable hardware components. Implementationof a hardware state machine so as to perform the functions describedherein will be apparent to a person skilled in the relevant art(s). Inyet another embodiment, elements are implanted using a combination ofboth hardware and software.

In another embodiment, the computer-based methods can be accessed orimplemented over the World Wide Web by providing access via a Web Pageto the methods described herein. Accordingly, the Web Page is identifiedby a Universal Resource Locator (URL). The URL denotes both the serverand the particular file or page on the server. In this embodiment, it isenvisioned that a client computer system interacts with a browser toselect a particular URL, which in turn causes the browser to send arequest for that URL or page to the server identified in the URL.Typically the server responds to the request by retrieving the requestedpage and transmitting the data for that page back to the requestingclient computer system (the client/server interaction is typicallyperformed in accordance with the hypertext transport protocol or HTTP).The selected page is then displayed to the user on the client's displayscreen. The client can then cause the server containing a computerprogram to launch an application to, for example, perform an analysisaccording to the described techniques. In another implementation, theserver can download an application to be run on the client to perform ananalysis according to the described techniques.

Although the systems and methods have been described in detail, it willbe apparent to those of skill in the art that the systems and methodscan be embodied in a variety of specific forms and that various changes,substitutions, and alterations can be made without departing from thespirit and scope of the systems and methods described herein. Thedescribed embodiments are only illustrative and not restrictive and thescope of the systems and methods is, therefore, indicated by thefollowing claims. Other embodiments are within the scope of thefollowing claims.

1. A method for incentivizing saving comprising: receiving a recurringtransfer from a first account to a second account, determining a numberof recurring transfers received, and adding a bonus to the secondaccount calculated from an average balance of the second account,wherein the bonus is added when the number of recurring transfersreceived is above a threshold during a period of time, thereby rewardingloyalty.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the bonus is a percent of theaverage balance of the second account.
 3. The method of claim 1, whereinthe period of time is one year.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein therecurring transfer recurs substantially monthly.
 5. The method of claim4, wherein the threshold is ten.
 6. The method of claim 4, wherein thethreshold is eleven.
 7. The method of claim 4, wherein the threshold istwelve.
 8. A method for incentivizing saving comprising: receiving arecurring transfer from a first account to a second account, determininga number of recurring transfers received, and adding a bonus to thesecond account calculated from a balance of the second account, whereinthe bonus is added when the number of recurring transfers received isabove a threshold during a period of time, thereby rewarding loyalty. 9.The method of claim 8, wherein the bonus is a percent of the averagebalance of the second account.
 10. The method of claim 8, wherein thebonus is a dollar amount related to the average balance of the secondaccount.
 11. The method of claim 8, wherein the bonus is a dollar amountindependent of the balance of the second account.
 12. A system forincentivizing savings comprising: a first account; a second account,receiving a recurring transfer from the first account; and a calculationmodule configured to determine a number of recurring transfers received,and add a bonus to the second account calculated from a balance of thesecond account when the number of recurring transfers received is abovea threshold during a period of time, thereby rewarding loyalty.
 13. Thesystem of claim 12, wherein the bonus is a percent of the averagebalance of the second account.
 14. The system of claim 12, wherein theperiod of time is one year.
 15. The system of claim 14, wherein therecurring transfer recurs monthly.
 16. The system of claim 15, whereinthe threshold is ten.
 17. The system of claim 15, wherein the thresholdis eleven.
 18. The system of claim 15, wherein the threshold is twelve.19. The system of claim 12, wherein the bonus is a percent of theaverage balance of the second account.
 20. The system of claim 12,wherein the bonus is a dollar amount related to the average balance ofthe second account.
 21. The system of claim 12, wherein the bonus is adollar amount independent of the balance of the second account.